Page 36 of Justified Fear

“I will,” she said, leaning down to kiss Maya’s head.“Let me know if Maya likes the biscuits I made her.”

He nodded and then watched as her father walked her out.She was…still stunning.She had been gorgeous the night that they found her, but now, after a couple of good nights’ rest, she seemed to glow.

“You might want to get a towel to get rid of the drool,” Kap said.

Ryan slanted his friend a look.“Fuck off.”

“Ooohh, Ryan cussed.”

“Wait, what?”Nikki asked, stopping by the door.“Captain America cussed?Say it isn’t so!”

Rami was right behind her, as he usually was, as they both entered the office.

“What’s up?”

“Ryan cussed,” Nikki said, as if she were revealing some kind of big secret.He cussed a lot.Most of the time, it was in his head.

“He used the word fuck,” Kap said, glee threading his voice.

His teammates were assholes.Every fucking one of them.So, he didn’t cuss that much, at least outside of his thoughts.

“Get bent, Kap.”

“Why so agitated, amigo?”

Dammit, when Rami used Spanish, he was trying to get under your skin.Ryan had seen the man use it repeatedly when questioning suspects.Mostly, when he wanted the person or people to think he was slow.They always fell for it, but Ryan knew better.

“You can get bent, too.”

“He was drooling over Ms.Templeton,” Kap said.“Probably upset his dog got more attention than he did.”

He glanced at Maya, who was watching the team with interest.Ryan turned back to his team.

“I will never be jealous of Maya.”

“That’s okay.We understand,” Kap said.

Ryan narrowed his eyes as he glared at his teammate.“What do you understand?”

They all shared a look, then Rami said, “Performance issues.”

Jesus.“I don’t have any performance issues.”

“It’s just that we’ve been a team for nine months.No sign of a woman.”

“Do you actually think I would introduce a woman I was dating to you?”

“Oh, okay,” Rami said as he shared a glance with Kap, then they both turned to face him.

“Worried about the competition?”Kap asked.

“What competition?The two guys who can’t keep it in their pants?I mean, do you even remember the name of the last woman either of you had in your bed?”

He didn’t say it with anger, but with enough force that it caused both of them to wince.

“Yeah, exactly.She’s a victim.She’s part of a case, and while I think she is gorgeous, I won’t step over that line.I have integrity.Maya, let’s go for a quick walk.”

At the sound of her name and one of her favorite words, she jumped to her feet.He led her through the common area and out the door.The moment the sun warmed his skin, he felt the tension easing and the muscles in his neck relaxing.